Marcus Samuelsson's Montego Bay Rum Cake
This recipe, adapted from Marcus Samuelsson’s The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food, is chef Samuelsson’s tribute to Herb Wilson. Wilson, who came up as a sous chef under Patrick Clark in Washington, D.C., later opened his own trailblazing place, Bambou — an upscale Caribbean-style restaurant in New York’s East Village. “As a young chef,” wrote Samuelsson in his headnote, “I was inspired by these highly aspirational restaurants and saw what was possible.”
[Read our review of The Rise.]
This recipe calls for a stand mixer – a piece of equipment I’ve never wanted to require in our recipes, so I’ve never bought one. I have adapted it, so that you can use either a stand mixer or a hand-held mixer. Note that 18 to 23 minutes of whisking are required, so if you will be bothered standing and hand-mixing that long, you’ll probably not want to make it unless you have a stand mixer. (The active time noted in the recipe, 20 minutes, is incorrect; it’s more like 35 minutes if you have a stand mixer (and can do some of the tasks while it’s mixing) or 40-ish if you use a hand-mixer.
Serves 10 to 12.
Ingredients
1 cup cake flour, plus extra for coating the pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup clarified butter, melted, plus extra butter for coating the pan
3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
1. Set a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat an 8-inch round cake pan with butter. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and coat it with butter. Sprinkle with flour and shake until it evenly coats the butter. Discard the extra.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. Combine the butter, 2 tablespoons of the rum and the vanilla extract in a small bowl and set aside. (Note: If you’ll be using a stand mixer, you can leave this step for while the mixer does its job in step 4.
2. Using a hand-held mixer or a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk the eggs for 2 minutes, or until they lighten in color.
3. If using a stand mixer: With the mixer still running, gradually add the granulated sugar over 1 minute. If using a hand-mixer: Add the granulated sugar a few tablespoonfuls at a time, beating well after each addition, until the sugar is all incorporated. Continue to whisk for 15 to 20 minutes, until the batter falls off of the whisk and doesn’t disappear immediately into the batter in the bowl.
4. Add one-fourth of the flour mixer to the batter in the mixing bowl and use a rubber spatula to gently fold until combined. Add the remaining flour and fold it in just enough to incorporate. Fold in the butter mixture until no streaks of liquid can be seen.
5. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.
6. Cool the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Use a toothpick or skewer to poke holes all over the top of the cake. Pour 9 tablespoons (1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon) of the rum all over the top of the cake. Once the cake has soaked up all the rum, carefully remove the cake from the pan and leave to cool completely.
7. Combine the whipping cream, brown sugar and remaining 1 tablespoon of rum in a mixing bowl and whisk — using either the hand-held mixer or stand mixer — until stiff peaks form. Spread the whipped cream over the top of the cake and serve.
Marcus Samuelsson's Montego Bay Rum Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup cake flour, plus extra for coating the pan
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup clarified butter, melted, plus extra butter for coating the pan
- 3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) dark rum
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
- Set a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat an 8-inch round cake pan with butter. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and coat it with butter. Sprinkle with flour and shake until it evenly coats the butter. Discard the extra.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. Combine the butter, 2 tablespoons of the rum and the vanilla extract in a small bowl and set aside. (Note: If you’ll be using a stand mixer, you can leave this step for while the mixer does its job in step 4.
- Using a hand-held mixer or a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk the eggs for 2 minutes, or until they lighten in color.
- If using a stand mixer: With the mixer still running, gradually add the granulated sugar over 1 minute. If using a hand-mixer: Add the granulated sugar a few tablespoonfuls at a time, beating well after each addition, until the sugar is all incorporated. Continue to whisk for 15 to 20 minutes, until the batter falls off of the whisk and doesn’t disappear immediately into the batter in the bowl.
- Add one-fourth of the flour mixer to the batter in the mixing bowl and use a rubber spatula to gently fold until combined. Add the remaining flour and fold it in just enough to incorporate. Fold in the butter mixture until no streaks of liquid can be seen.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.
- Cool the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Use a toothpick or skewer to poke holes all over the top of the cake. Pour 9 tablespoons (1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon) of the rum all over the top of the cake. Once the cake has soaked up all the rum, carefully remove the cake from the pan and leave to cool completely.
- Combine the whipping cream, brown sugar and remaining 1 tablespoon of rum in a mixing bowl and whisk — using either the hand-held mixer or stand mixer — until stiff peaks form. Spread the whipped cream over the top of the cake and serve.
